A Matter of Respect
by The Cosmic Penguin
Summary: Why did they hang around with Waddle Dees so much? Kirby had Waddle Dee friends, Meta Knight had a Waddle Dee companion or two…it couldn't be just because they looked similar, could it? Oneshot.


A/N: So I couldn't help but notice that there aren't many fics that focus on both Kirby and Waddle Dee in a happy light. And I noticed that there aren't many oneshots around the archive, either. This fulfills both; hope you enjoy my terrible attempt at something insightful. :)

I didn't set this in either the animeverse or the gameverse; when I wrote this I was thinking of both (HnK Ep. 45/Kirby Super Star/etc.). Take this as either, or be like me and connect the anime and game worlds.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any video game franchises, but if a HAL member is reading this right now, could you consider making an opening for me when I finish learning about how to program computers?

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"_Hurry and go. Being a wanderer is your destiny, right?"_

They were all wanderers.

The Waddle Dees struck off across seas, and trekked across plains. They did not give up on their goals. They were utterly stubborn and unyielding until they chose to be. If somebody was kind to them, they repaid the favor no matter the cost. And when they became closely attached to something, they never truly left it until it was torn away from them to no return. When that happened, they just kept wandering…

It was something Kirby and Meta Knight could relate to, although they kept their wanderings frequent but short. Their species had done the same thing; something they knew despite not knowing any others besides themselves. It was some sort of instinct, carried along from generation to generation until the species died off completely. The effects of this instinct could never be completely repressed, hard as it was to come to terms with. Every creature likes to feel in control of himself, but no matter how hard you tried, how much willpower you put into it, you found yourself out roaming whatever land you happened to be on at the time for some reason, whether it be parts for a project or to save the world (both were good fixes). You might even find yourself roaming through space, across planets and comets, and possibly even through galaxies, though neither of them cared to try at the moment. Occasionally, this instinct became so powerful that it seemed to influence beings around them; setting them wandering as well (perhaps a reason King Dedede had so many castles about the land). But even with that influence on them, almost every other creature could not fully comprehend what it meant.

Most normal creatures could not figure out that they literally had no control over their instincts; that saving the universe or looking for food or gathering parts for projects and such was a way to soothe the storm within them. The puffballs liked staying in one place; finding ways to bribe their instincts had been easy once they had accepted them. It was quite fortunate that the need to wander _long distances_ took years to condense solidly, and sometimes a galaxy-wide journey tended to wear it out for a while, no matter how short it was. Perhaps it was simply a matter of psychology; or perhaps it was something more. Either way, it was really of no concern to them. They acknowledged that it was something that would never leave them, so they simply dealt with it instead of fighting a useless battle with it. A rare few intellectual creatures had managed to make sense of this, and seemed to understand that it was due to instincts alone. Feelings and instincts are things that you could not physically fight, and there was no real escape from them either. You were simply trapped with them; left to deal with them and sort them out as best as you can. It was nice when they ran across someone like that, but there was something inside them still; something that wanted to be able to relate to someone about it instead of being understood without experience.

The Waddle Dees were such creatures.

The Waddle Dees knew what it was like to have that instinct, even if the puffballs' instincts were not as extreme as theirs.

The Waddle Dees could be as tough, stubborn, strong, and skilled as they were, and sometimes the Dees were even a little more practical than the two.

Perhaps those were the reasons that they got along so well. It is easy, for example, to tell someone about a roller coaster ride you've gone on, but unless they've actually ridden it themselves, there's always a lost bridge in between, something that's left out. That something is experience. Until you've felt the way that the other person did, you cannot fully comprehend it yourself. The cappies didn't feel that way; the humans didn't feel that way; the forest animals didn't feel that way; practically everything they'd met didn't feel that way. Even adventurers who had a tendency to go wandering around had different reasons, like boredom or money or family or who knows what else. There was only one guaranteed group that the puffballs knew they could relate to, and that was the Waddle Dees.

The Waddle Dees would talk.

The Waddle Dees would listen.

The Waddle Dees understood them instead of telling them to fight their instincts or such stuff like more stupid creatures would.

The Waddle Dees simply accepted them.

They didn't know why, really. They looked similar, of course, but their color patterns were different from the Waddle Dees. And even though the Waddle Dees had a more flexible structure than the other species of Dreamland, they still had bones, whereas the only bones in the puffballs' bodies would come in the form of wings when they got older. And, like everything else in Dreamland, there was a massive contrast in food consumption. Something with an almost invisible mouth is very different from something whose mouth is its main attack method. There were other differences than those, obviously, but yet…

They would find themselves talking with Waddle Dees. And they always found that the Waddle Dees accepted them. The Waddle Doos were nice since they usually hung out with the Dees, but they weren't the same species any more. They had lost their wandering instincts, replacing them with various other tricks and instincts for their lives. The Waddle Dees were the only ones who truly held true to their instincts…and didn't mind living with them.

It was something that Kirby and Meta Knight respected.

When they sat down to talk with the Dees, they felt like the lost bridge had been fixed. Even if they never brought up the subject of their wandering inclinations, the knowledge that the person knew how the other felt made both of them feel at ease. Sometimes they did bring up their wanderings, simply to keep their feelings from building up inside of them to the point of an almost literal explosion. And whenever they did, it didn't matter which Dee they spoke with…they all knew, from the wisest elder to a younger apprentice. The youngest, of course, had not learned of such things, but they held such respect for other wanderers that the puffballs simply did not care. They knew that someday the children would have to face the facts of such things, whether they wanted to or not, and the two could sympathize with that.

Maybe that was why they always hung around with Waddle Dees, even if it was only to have a short chat or to help them with a menial task that lasted ten minutes. Occasionally, they asked a Waddle Dee to come along with them on an adventure for a while. The Dees were always dynamic assistants; they could use lots of items as weapons that the puffballs also used—parasols and spears had been their traditional weapons, so Kirby had obtained a good deal of skill in them. (Meta Knight had learned about them as well, but was far more apt to use the spear instead of the parasol.) In return for the Dees' teaching, the puffballs had mentored them on things like anti-gravity devices, construction of battleships, flying Air Ride machines and Wheelie Bikes (warpstars included), changing their colors, using Scope Shooters, finding places to hide your trusty swim goggles, and a whole list of wild and crazy things that most sane people would never attempt. After hanging around with the two adventurers, the Waddle Dees grew accustomed to the dangerous methods of fun that the puffballs loved…although they did make sure they were wearing protective gear; they had bones to break, after all.

Sometimes the Waddle Dees got a little banged up. Then the puffballs felt bad.

But they would get back up again, even if they needed a little help. They didn't stay angry very long, either. And they always forgave the two for their mistakes, so long periods of contempt were practically unheard of. The puffballs savored this 'easy forgiveness'. Other common species, like Cappies, tended to be quick-tempered when something even remotely bad happened, and although they apologized just as quickly, they rarely forgot the past easily. The Waddle Dees were more reasonable about mistakes compared to such species, and though the two talked quite frequently to other species (Cappies, again, were a good example), the majority of those creatures did not understand much more than the fact that they were famous heroes. Barely any of those creatures could understand how their species worked or functioned either, and were perhaps a bit scared of what the puffballs' full power could be.

The Waddle Dees knew of this feeling, as well.

The Waddle Dees came from far away (though not from another planet, much to Kirby's and Meta Knight's regret).

The Waddle Dees had their customs and language.

The Waddle Dees were a mystery (to some point) to the rest of Dreamland's civilization.

And since they had an adequate amount of things in common to begin with, the Waddle Dees had taken the puffballs in, in a way.

Kirby and Meta Knight had not immediately understood the Waddle Dees' gratitude toward them; it was their job to save and help people, after all. At first they'd been a bit reluctant to accept such deep thanks, especially for small projects. But eventually, they grew fond of the Dees' happy attitudes toward them. The Waddle Dees treated them with respect…but still realized that they were still normal beings that had feelings and could make mistakes. They were strangely insightful about such things, yet another aspect of their life that they had in common with the puffballs. (The Dees, however, tempered their insightfulness with reasonable stops; Kirby and Meta Knight tended to overanalyze things to the point where even the Waddle Dees had a hard time making sense of their thoughts.)

But the Waddle Dees would never abandon the puffballs. And the puffballs would never abandon the Waddle Dees. They would comfort the puffballs in their time of need, and the puffballs would do the same for the Dees. They stuck together. They understood each other. The two species instinctively _knew_ that they could trust the other. After all the bonds between the two species, it would have been difficult to simply give up on the other. The Waddle Dees and the puffballs were indebted to the other, and their morals dictated that as long as a puffball or a Waddle Dee was indebted to someone, they would continually repay the favor until they could repay it no more.

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_Hoshi no Kaabii_ fans, who can guess which episode the quote in italics came from? (Hint: It's before Episode 30) I was divided on the title, but this seemed to encompass the whole story. Drop me a review and let me know what I'm doing right/wrong!

Oh, and just because people think it's funny for me to say this: YOUR FLAMES WILL BE USED TO COOK MY NONEXISTANT S'MORES!


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